AHRQ Publishing and Communications Guideline

Ink Colors

Black and the following Pantone colors are used in the design elements:

PMS 287 (medium blue).

PMS 2695 (dark blue).

PMS 284 (light blue).

PMS 242 (red/purple).

Bleed

Inks may bleed off all four edges.

Sample products

Design Elements

PCC triangle: The triangle should be used in each publication. Use the 3-color (PMS 287, PMS 2695, PMS 284) version (three blues) when possible. The triangle can be broken apart and a portion of it can be used by itself. The triangle can also be cropped and rotated, except when used as a tagline.

Sample triangles

Photos

Photos may be used where appropriate and should relate to the publication topic. Photos can print in full process color or black and white.

Fonts

For use in design programs such as Adobe® Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Photoshop:

Trade Gothic Condensed No. 18.

Trade Gothic Bold Condensed No. 20.

Trade Gothic Bold Condensed No. 20 Oblique.

Trade Gothic Bold No. 2.

Grade Gothic Bold No. 2 Oblique.

For use in programs in which Trade Gothic is not available (such as Microsoft® PowerPoint®, Microsoft Word®, Email signatures, HTML/Web content, etc.):

Arial Narrow.

Hyphenation

Should be turned off.

Sample fonts

Branding

HHS and AHRQ branding logos must be placed at the bottom of the front cover. The HHS/AHRQ logos must not be stretched, cropped, or modified in any way. The branding logo should fit proportionally with the design elements on the front cover. Use black or white (reversed out) for color. The Health IT block must also be added to the right of the branding. A sample is shown below.

Front cover branding logo

Front cover branding logo with PCC tagline

AHRQ logo, publication number, and date must appear at bottom of back cover.

All AHRQ publications being printed for distribution from the AHRQ Clearinghouse must bear an AHRQ publication number and a date. These items normally appear at the bottom of cover four or on the last page of fact sheets and marketing materials. The AHRQ logo and publication number may be flush right or left depending on the design. The AHRQ editor will provide publication numbers to contractors. A sample of a flush left back cover is shown below.

Back cover logo

Submitting Files to AHRQ

For print-ready proofs to go to the Government Printing Office (GPO), provide AHRQ source files in Quark Xpress or Adobe InDesign. Include fonts, logos, and any picture files (TIFs, EPS, or JPGs) with the source files.

In addition to the electronic files, a full-size color printout of each page including bleeds and crop marks and a folding dummy are required.

GPO also requires that a completed Form 952 accompany print files. This form is downloadable from the GPO Web site at http://www.gpo.gov